2010 Bragg medal and prize

Peter Campbell

Science Learning Centre London

For his leading role in a wide range of projects that have made a significant impact on the physics curriculum and the teaching of physics.

Peter Campbell has written and edited resources for a number of science curriculum projects, most significantly A-level Advancing Physics and GCSE Twenty First Century Science. As a member of the Editorial Board of the journal Physics Education he has contributed, commissioned and peer-reviewed many articles.

He spent much of his teaching career in post-16 schools and colleges, where he developed an interest in and knowledge of applied and vocational science. This enabled him to lead on the development of the applied science strand within Twenty First Century Science. He also contributed to the Nuffield 14-19 Review’s applied science seminar in 2007 and helped shape its resulting Issues paper.

Along with curriculum development, he has been active in the professional development of teachers. For example, he ran the Institute’s London Physics Teacher Network for several years. Last year he devised a national, accredited 30-day course that helps biology and chemistry teachers to teach physics better, for which he is currently the course tutor in London.

Campbell’s commitment to teacher training is in part due to an ongoing interest in the human dimension of physics, and a desire to help others think about physics in this way. He led an ASE-Wellcome Trust project on science and citizenship, with outcomes that included teaching resources and a QCA key stage 3 Scheme of Work. He also helped to ensure the success of the Physics and Ethics Education Project www.peep.ac.uk

His understanding of the practicalities of teaching is best illustrated through the collaborative work that he has done developing the website www.practicalphysics.org, which has proven to be immensely popular with teachers all around the world, spawning imitators in chemistry and biology.